BUFFY: Spike? What about him?GILES: Buffy, I told you my concerns when you recklessly chose to remove the chip in his head.WOOD: Wait. Sorry. Chip?GILES: Long story--BUFFY: Military put a chip in Spike's brain so he couldn't hurt anyone.GILES: And that would be the abridged version.BUFFY: He has a soul now, Giles. Spike won't let himself harm anyone.GILES: Unless The First triggers him again.WOOD: Triggers the chip?BUFFY (shaking her head): The trigger's a post-hypnotic deal. The First put in his head. Madehim... He was killing again.WOOD: So he's got a trigger, a soul and a chip.GILES: Not anymore.BUFFY: It was killing him, Giles.WOOD: The trigger?BUFFY: The chip. The trigger's not working anymore.WOOD: Because the military gave him a soul. (Buffy just looks at him.)WOOD: Sorry.

It's all very amusing, isn't it? And yet, there is a lot going on in Spike's head of a deep, dark, and dangerous nature. Technological, spiritual, and psycho-sexual things. Fortunately, we have an amazing meta on Spike's chip/trigger/soul to help us pull back the curtain better than any Prokaryote stone. I guarantee that when you read it you will discover several new and fascinating things that were right in front of you this whole time: